Let me ask you, when was the last time you felt pure joy? Not the fleeting, instant-gratification type of joy, but the type of joy you felt as a child experiencing the beauty of the world around you. Until mushrooms came into my life, I hadn’t felt pure joy since I was a child. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had an amazing life filled with love and stability, but the pressure of adulthood piles up and soon you find yourself burnt out and having to schedule appointments to FaceTime your loved ones. Throw in some relationship trauma, financial burden, economic issues, and you find yourself on the fast track to instability and unhappiness.

In 2017, I was misdiagnosed by my doctor and put on various medications and stimulants for several years, which manifested into severe anxiety and depression. At this time, I was studying for my Master’s in Nutrition where I learned about the numerous benefits of medicinal mushrooms. Over the course of a few months, I traded my harmful “medication” for medicinal mushroom supplements and have never looked back! I also began microdosing psilocybin shortly after. Mushrooms have completely changed my life. I see and feel pure joy in so many moments every day, even coupled with the same stressors previously listed.

I truly believe mushrooms should be a part of every household, they are extremely powerful in the health and wellness space, as well as medical. Psilocybin therapy is showing promising results and I am thankful to see the progress being made towards the legalization of various plant medicines this past year. This is especially true for the progress being made to create access to psychedelic healing modalities with psilocybin therapy. Studies have shown that psilocybin may have a positive impact on anxiety, depression, PTSD, and beyond due to its ability to stimulate nerve cell regrowth in parts of the brain responsible for emotion and memory. These findings are both true for micro and macro doses.

A 2013 study from the University of South Florida found that psilocybin stimulates neurogenesis, the growth and repair of brain cells in the hippocampus.¹ The hippocampus is responsible for emotion and memory. In this study, mice that were given psilocybin overcame fear conditioning far better than mice that were given a placebo.¹ This study, like many others, supports the hypothesis that psilocybin can help break the traumatic cycle in patients with PTSD or anxiety and depression. This is especially important among veterans. About 11-20 out of every 100 veterans suffer from PTSD. Non-veterans in the United States also suffer from PTSD, which can come from life experiences involving serious accidents, illness, abuse, or natural disasters. PTSD can be easily triggered with a memory or stimulus, causing intense fear and anxiety, and can be extremely debilitating.

There are several trials taking place across the country utilizing psilocybin for treating PTSD, anxiety and depression. The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) organization and others are advocating the study and use of psychedelic compounds like psilocybin in treating psychiatric disorders. I fully believe the time of demonizing the use of psychedelic compounds for medical treatment is coming to an end and I hope to be a part of this revelation in psilocybin therapy as a business owner, with a focus in microdosing psilocybin.

Currently, psilocybin is classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. This complicates things for clinical trials, but there is fast movement towards decimalization in certain cities across the United States. The movement to decriminalize psilocybin in the United States began only a few years ago, with Denver, Colorado becoming the first city to decriminalize psilocybin in mid 2019. Two cities in California, Oakland and Santa Cruz followed suit and decriminalized psilocybin a few months later. Other cities across the United States are coming aboard, such as Washington, D.C., Somerville, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northampton, Massachusetts, and Seattle, Washington. Oregon is the first state to decriminalize and also legalize psilocybin for therapeutic use. Unfortunately, the use, sale, and possession of psilocybin in the United States, despite state laws, is illegal under federal law. Which makes it difficult for business owners like myself to help others obtain the benefits of psilocybin. With legalization, there will be greater access to ensuring quality and safety are at the forefront of both business and consumer minds, with proper third party lab testing.

We are very hopeful for the future of psilocybin therapy. We see this space moving much quicker than cannabis did a decade ago. Existing research suggests and shows psilocybin is very safe. The risk of addiction or a fatal overdose is very small compared to other legal substances like alcohol. My mission is to bring awareness and reverence to this forgotten superfood in the Western part of the world through creating mushroom products that are potent, colorful, and yummy – as a superfood SHOULD be!

Having experienced the power of medicinal mushrooms firsthand, I knew there had to be a better and easier way to get the benefits without the hassle and terrible taste of tinctures, pills, and powders. Two years later, Mush More Co was born and my first product line came to fruition – Mushie™ organic super mushroom gummies! These gummies are always organic, vegan, non-gmo, super low sugar, and gluten & grain free. We use 100% dual-extracted whole fruiting bodies for maximum benefit. Each serving contains 2,000mg of super mushrooms and we’ve even added 7,500IU of Vitamin D2 sourced from organic mushrooms exposed to UV light – for a value added, immunity boost!

To thank the planet for these super mushrooms, each Mush More Co product sold plants a sea tree. Why? Because mangroves can store three to five times more carbon than our rainforests! We also are a plastic-free company and want to lower our carbon footprint as much as possible by offering a subscription service to the customer. Each future 30-day purchase will come in a fully compostable bag so customers can refill their glass bottles.

To get a little geeky, we only use organic mushroom fruiting bodies because current studies show the differences in compounds found in mycelium versus fruiting bodies for these types. The fruiting bodies of our Cordyceps ENERGY gummies, Lion’s Mane BRAINY gummies, Reishi UNWIND gummies, and our 5 Super Mushrooms DEFEND gummies are much higher in potency and chemical variety than mycelium. Also, mycelium-only products often contain grain powders or starch as fillers, which creates a less potent product. YUCK!

Also, mushrooms are very porous and absorb everything from their environment. This means they can easily absorb pesticides, fungicides, heavy metals and other toxins used in non-organic growing and can accumulate toxins. All of our super mushrooms are 3rd party lab tested to triple check quality and USDA certified organic. When psilocybin becomes legalized, be on the lookout for micro psilly gummies www.micropsillies.com! Where the focus will continue to be on quality and transparency for the consumer. But for now, grab your Mushie organic super mushroom gummies at www.eatmushies.com!

References

1. Catlow BJ, Song S, Paredes DA, Kirstein CL, Sanchez-Ramos J. Effects of psilocybin on hippocampal neurogenesis and extinction of trace fear conditioning. Exp Brain Res. 2013 Aug;228(4):481-91. doi: 10.1007/s00221-013-3579-0. Epub 2013 Jun 2. PMID: 23727882.

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Catherine Anise

Catherine is an influencer with a Masters in Nutrition. Founder of Mushie mushroom gummies, she traded her harmful “medication” for medicinal mushroom supplements and has never looked back!

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